Special effect chair and system including the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a special effect chair, and the special effect chair includes a chair; a heating element installed inside the chair; a wind blowing unit for circulating air heated by the heating element; and a discharge unit for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit to the outside of the chair, and the discharge unit is positioned on the front side of the chair. Accordingly, according to the present invention, power consumption can be reduced as much as one twentieth compared with a conventional technique by reducing the distance of injecting hot air and adding a heat storage function.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a special effect four-dimensional (4D) chair provided with wind blowing and hot air functions and a special effect system including the same.

BACKGROUND ART

The 4D technique refers to a technique which gives a sense of reality to movie viewers by providing physical effects (spray of water bubbles, vibration or movement of a seat, strobe lights, emission of smell and the like) together with 3D stereoscopic images. Although it is generally referred to as 4D in the sense that a technique is added to the 3D, this is a kind of marketing terminology rather than a technical terminology. The 4D technique is not necessarily accompanied by a 3D stereoscopic image, and when an image needs to be played in a 4D facility although the image itself is manufactured as a general image, not a 3D stereoscopic image, it can be implemented by providing physical effects to a 2D general image. Accordingly, the most outstanding feature of the 4D technique is giving a physical stimulus to the audience in addition to the image.

Recently, the 4D technique reaches the level of making the audience visually, acoustically and olfactorily feel a situation close to a real situation when the audience watch a movie, and a tactile effect using hot air is also developed.

However, a conventional technique using hot air is a method of discharging the hot air from the cushion of the backrest of a front chair to a back chair. Since temperature of the hot air rapidly drops from the moment of discharging the hot air through the outlet due to the distance between the front chair and the back chair, a heating element which generates heat requires high power in order to obtain a high hot air effect, and a wind blower which generates wind also requires high power. In addition, since noises are generated by the rotation speed of a fan which rotates faster if power consumption of the wind blower is higher, excessive noise in feeling the hot air rather hinders the audience from enjoying the movie.

Accordingly, when the hot air function is used, the cost increased by using the power for the effect of hot air is larger than the profit of playing the movie in a theater, and thus using the 4D effect of hot air in a theater is avoided.

In addition, since the distance between a front chair and a back chair is not standardized for all theaters and differently applied in each country and theater, it is inconvenient in that the heating element, the wind blower and the like should be adjusted and controlled according to the distance between the front chair and the back chair in order to provide an adequate effect of hot air to a viewer seated in the back chair. Particularly, since the distance between the front chair and the back chair is further extended recently for the convenience of viewers, the cost of using the power according to the effect of hot air is expected to be increased furthermore, and thus the 4D technique is difficult to be commercialized in a country adopting a wide distance between the front chair and the back chair.

On the other hand, seeing from the aspect of stability, the conventional technique mounts a temperature sensor (bimetal) in the neighborhood of a hot air module, and if temperature goes above a predetermined level, the temperature sensor operates and cuts off the power. At this point, if a defect occurs in the temperature sensor, there is a high risk of fire since temperature of the heating element cannot be controlled.

Accordingly, although the effect of hot air is an essential factor for feeling various 4D effects, there are obstacles described above to reach the level of commercialization.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the cost of installing and using 4D chairs in a theater by reducing the power needed for generating hot air.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to reduce the noise of rotation of a fan which hinders watching a movie by making it possible to obtain a sufficient effect of hot air although the speed of the fan is lowered and provide the audience with comfort by providing an adequate strength of hot air when the audience feel the hot air.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to lower the manufacturing and maintenance cost of the 4D effect chairs by miniaturizing and simplifying a module for generating a hot air effect and secure more space in a chair to mount different visual, acoustic, olfactory and vibratory effects on the chair.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to prevent breakout of a fire more effectively by using the resistance switching characteristics of a material itself which generates heat, without installing and controlling a temperature sensor.

Technical Solution

To accomplish the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a special effect chair including: a chair; a heating element installed inside the chair; a wind blowing unit for circulating air heated by the heating element; and a discharge unit for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit to the outside of the chair, and the discharge unit is positioned on the front side of the chair and may include an air vent blade for controlling the direction or the amount of the discharged air.

In addition, in the special effect chair of the present invention, the heating element may be formed of a material which abruptly increases a resistance value at a specific temperature or higher, and the heating element includes a PTC heater. In addition, the special effect chair may further include a switch for controlling operation of the heating element or the wind blowing unit.

In addition, the special effect chair of the present invention may further include a heat storage unit for conserving the air heated by the heating element, and the heat storage unit may be combined on the surface of the heating element or may have a shape surrounding the heating element.

In addition, the special effect chair of the present invention includes: a seat unit; a base unit for supporting lower part of the seat unit; and a backrest combined with the seat unit or the base unit and formed to be extended upward, and the discharge unit may be positioned on the front side of the backrest.

Here, the discharge unit may be positioned at an upper portion on the front side of the backrest, and the heating element may be arranged inside the backrest, between the center portion of the backrest and the upper portion where the discharge unit is formed.

In addition, the special effect chair of the present invention may further include an armrest combined at least at any one side of the seat unit or the backrest, and the discharge unit may be positioned in the armrest.

A special effect system of the present invention includes: a special effect chair including a heating element installed inside the chair, a wind blowing unit for circulating air heated by the heating element, and a discharge unit for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit to the outside of the chair; and a control server for controlling at least any one of the heating element and the wind blowing unit of the chair.

Advantageous Effects

Compared with a conventional 4D chair which uses the hot air effect, the present invention may reduce the power needed for generating the hot air as much as about one twentieth from 2,000 W to 100 W per unit of a 4D chair by reducing an injection distance, miniaturizing a hot air generating module and using a heat storage plate, and, accordingly, the cost of installing and using the 4D chair in a theater can be reduced drastically.

In addition, the noise and power of a fan can be reduced naturally by reducing the injection distance and miniaturizing the hot air generating module, and since the hot air is injected at a wind speed adequate for the audience to feel the hot air, an effect of providing comfort can be obtained.

Meanwhile, since the heating element of the present invention uses a material which abruptly increases the resistance value at a specific temperature or higher, a temperature sensor does not need to be additionally installed unlike the configuration of a conventional technique, and thus the manufacturing cost is reduced, and although the conventional technique has a risk of fire caused by the defect or failure of the temperature sensor, the present invention is more adequate for preventing a fire since the stability of adjusting the temperature is rather higher although the temperature sensor is not equipped.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing the interior of a special effect chair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of an assembly (hereinafter, a combination of a heating element 120, a wind blowing unit 130, a discharge unit 140 and a heat storage unit 150 is referred to as an assembly) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the configuration of a discharge unit 140 and a switch 160 positioned in an armrest 114 in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the configuration of discharging hot air from the front side backrest 113 of a special effect chair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the configuration of discharging hot air from the armrest 114 of a special effect chair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the configuration of simultaneously discharging hot air from the backrest 113 and the armrest 114 of a special effect chair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing temperature drop according to an embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

The details for embodying the present invention will be hereafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention in detail, if related already known functions are apparent to those skilled in the art and may unnecessarily make the spirit of the present invention unclear, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the interior of a special effect chair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of an assembly (hereinafter, a combination of a heating element 120, a wind blowing unit 130, a discharge unit 140 and a heat storage unit 150 is referred to as an assembly) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A special effect chair 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a chair 110, a heating element 120, a wind blowing unit 130 and a discharge unit 140. More specifically, the special effect chair 100 includes a chair 110, a heating element 120 installed inside the chair 110, a wind blowing unit 130 for circulating air heated by the heating element 120, and a discharge unit 140 for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit 130 to the outside of the chair 110, and the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the front side of the chair 110.

The heating element 120 is installed inside the chair 110 to heat up ambient air by generating heat. For example, a method of converting electrical energy into heat energy such as a method of generating heat using an electric resistor installed in an electro-thermic appliance such as an electric iron or an electric blanket can be used. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any method which can generate hot air using electrical energy can be applied.

The wind blowing unit 130 circulates the air heated by the heating element 120. The wind blowing unit 130 is assembled by combining a motor and a fan and generates wind as the fan is rotated by the motor. Hot air is generated as the wind passes through the heating element 120 or a heat storage unit 150. At this point, hot air or normal wind can be selectively discharged according to on and off of the heating element 120.

For example, when an explosion scene appears, the air is heated by turning on the heating element 120 in advance and the hot air is discharged by operating the wind blowing unit 130, and in a scene of riding and driving a motorcycle fast, cool wind may be blown by operating the wind blowing unit 130 without turning on the heating element 120. This can be controlled by a control server 200 described below.

At this point, cold wind can be discharged by installing a cooling module instead of the heating element 120. For example, a method of cooling down ambient air by using a Peltier element can be used. In addition, it is also possible to implement a configuration of selectively discharging hot or cold air by installing the cooling module together with the heating element 120 and controlling them by the control server described below. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any method which can generate cold air can be applied.

The discharge unit 140 means an outlet for discharging the air heated inside the chair 110. The discharge unit 140 is positioned on the front side of the backrest 113, and, in this case, the viewer may feel, in the back, the hot air discharged from the front side of the chair 110.

A conventional technique is a configuration which positions the discharge unit 140 on the rear side of the chair 110, and the viewer feels hot air discharged from the front chair 110. As shown in the conventional technique, if it is assumed that the injection distance of the hot air from the outlet to the viewer is one meter and a degree of temperature drop is experimented (see FIG. 7), the temperature measured one meter away from the outlet is 36 degrees when the discharging temperature is 128 degrees, showing that a large degree of temperature drop is occurred due to the external temperature, and a very high power (2,000 W per unit) is required in order to have the viewer feel the effect of hot air. However, in the present invention, since the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the front side of the chair 110 and the injection distance to the body of the viewer is very short, an efficient hot air effect can be obtained with low power (100 W per unit) and light wind blowing, and thus the present invention has an effect of reducing the power as much as one twentieth.

Accordingly, a component consuming low power can be used since a sufficient effect can be obtained with low power compared with a conventional technique in which the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the rear side of a chair, and the burden of cost for manufacturing and using the chair is lowered greatly as the cost of other materials such as a connection pipe and the like is saved, and the noise generated by the rotation of a fan can be reduced since strong wind blowing is not needed. Furthermore, since a heating element 120 and a fan of a further small size can be used as it does not need to blow the hot air far, the assembly can be miniaturized, and thus the space inside the chair 110 for mounting other 4D techniques can be used efficiently.

The data comparing the difference of power and manufacturing cost between the conventional technique and the present invention according to the position of the discharge unit 140 is shown below.

TABLE 1 Conventional technique Present invention Power Heating AC 220 V/1,000 W AC 220 V/13 W consumption element Fan AC 220 V/100 W  DC 12 V/8 W

In another embodiment of the present invention, the heating element 120 may use a material which abruptly increases the resistance value at a specific temperature or higher. A Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater is an example of the material, and this is a kind of n-type semiconductor provided with electrical conductivity by adding an extremely small amount of rare earth element to Barium Titanate and capable of moving the Curie temperature by substituting some of Ba with Sr or Pb, and this is defined as an element having a property of abruptly increasing the resistance value by phase transition if the temperature arrives at a specific temperature.

Since the PTC element may maintain temperature to be constant at a desired temperature on the basis of length and area, it can be manufactured and used to have an area and a length for maintaining the surface temperature at about 170 degrees when the heating element 120 is installed in the backrest 113. However, the above example is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and the PTC element can be manufactured to have a different area and length in order to maintain a constant temperature according the installation position of the heating element 120. In addition, a material which can maintain a specific temperature in a principle similar to this also can be applied to the heating element 120.

Since the conventional method uses a material having a constant resistance regardless of change of temperature and has a risk of fire if the temperature continuously goes up, it uses a method of attaching a temperature sensor to the heating element 120 and controlling temperature in a method of turning off the power of the heating element 120 if it reaches a predetermined temperature. Accordingly, since a temperature sensor is additionally attached, the manufacturing cost is high, and there is a risk of fire caused by overheating if the temperature sensor is out of order.

Contrarily, in the present invention, as the resistance value abruptly increases at a specific temperature or higher, the increased resistance value limits the current, and the temperature is maintained almost constantly regardless of change of external temperature or power voltage. Accordingly, in the present invention, since the temperature can be controlled by the material itself without attaching a separate temperature sensor, installation cost can be reduced and, at the same time, the risk of fire caused by the failure of the temperature sensor can be solved by simplifying the structure compared with that of the conventional technique.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the chair 110 includes a seat unit 111, a base unit 112 and a backrest 113.

The seat unit 111 is a portion contacting with the buttocks when a viewer is seated, and the base unit 112 supports the lower part of the seat unit 111. The backrest 113 is combined with the seat unit 111 or the base unit 112 and formed to be extended upward to support the back and the head of the viewer. In addition, an armrest 114 may be combined at least at any one side of the seat unit 111 or the backrest 113 to support arms or put a beverage, popcorns or the like thereon when the viewer watches a movie.

At this point, the discharge unit 140 may be positioned on the front side of the backrest 113 (see FIG. 4), and if the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the front side of the backrest 113, an effective hot air effect can be obtained with low power and light wind blowing since the injection distance to the body of the viewer is very short. Accordingly, the burden of cost can be lowered since a sufficient effect can be obtained with low power compared with a conventional technique in which the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the rear side of a chair, and the noise generated by the rotation of a fan can be reduced since strong wind blowing is not needed. Furthermore, since a heating element 120 and a fan of a further small size can be used as it does not need to blow the hot air far, the overall configuration of the hot air effect function can be miniaturized, and thus the space inside the chair 110 for mounting other 4D techniques can be used efficiently.

Particularly, since the discharge unit 113 is positioned at an upper portion on the front side of the backrest 113 and the heating element 120 is arranged inside the backrest 113, between the upper center portion of the backrest 113 and the upper portion where the discharge unit 140 is formed, the distance of injecting the hot air is reduced, and, at the same time, the configuration of the hot air effect function can be miniaturized furthermore by placing the discharge unit 113 and the heating element 112 as close as possible.

In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention (see FIG. 3), the chair 110 further includes an armrest 114 combined at least at any one side of the seat unit 111 or the backrest 113, and the discharge unit 140 may be positioned in the armrest 114. Accordingly, the hot air effect can be provided toward the viewer from the armrest 114 (see FIG. 5), and the viewer may feel a further intensive hot air effect by installing a plurality of the assemblies at different portions.

The position, the size and the shape of the discharge unit 140 are merely an example and can be applied as various embodiments, and the discharge unit 140 can be provided in both of the backrest 113 and the armrest 114 (see FIG. 6).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the discharge unit 140 may include air vent blades for controlling the direction or the amount of the discharged air. For example, the air vent blades are combined at both edges of the discharge unit 140 hole so that the blades can be adjusted up and down or left and right, and the blades can be adjusted to be engaged with each other to block the discharge unit 140 so that the air cannot be discharged. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any method which can control the direction and the amount of the wind can be applied. In this method, the amount of wind can be adjusted by using the air vent blades if the viewer does not want the effect of hot air.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the chair 110 may further include a heat storage unit 150 for conserving the air heated by the heating element 120. The heat storage unit 150 is for conserving the air heated by the heating element 120, which can efficiently conserve the heat by adopting a structure continuously winding at regular intervals (see FIG. 2) by using a metallic material which can easily absorb heat to form multiple layers of a structure which can store air between metals. At this point, aluminum or the like can be used as a material for easily conserving and discharging heat.

If the heat storage unit 150 is used, it is possible to configure an embodiment of a structure, in which the heat storage unit 150 combined with the heating element 120 receives the heat generated by the heating element 120 placed inside the chair 110 and heats up and conserves the air, and the air heated and conserved by the heat storage unit 150 is immediately circulated toward the discharge unit 140 if the wind blowing unit 130 operates, and if the hot air is discharged through the discharge unit 140 positioned on the front side of the chair 110, the viewer feels the effect of hot air. Like this, if the heat storage unit 150 is used, power can be saved since the air is heated in advance and the heated air is stored.

Particularly, the heat storage unit 150 may be directly combined on the surface of the heating element 120, or a structure of enhancing the efficiency by placing the heat storage unit 150 within the intervals of a superior heat conductivity range may be adopted although the heat storage unit 150 does not contact with the surface, or the heat storage unit 150 may adopt a configuration surrounding the heating element 120 in the shape of a circle or a sphere by placing the heat element 120 at the center. If the heat storage unit 150 surrounds the heating element 120 in the shape of a sphere, the most ideal heat transfer method can be adopted since the distance from the heating element 120 to the heat storage unit 150 is the same in any direction of x, y or z axis.

In still another embodiment of the present invention (see FIG. 3), the chair 110 may further include a switch 160 for controlling operation of the heating element 120 or the wind blowing unit 130. The switch 160 may turn on or turn off the hot air effect by controlling operation of the heating element 120 or the wind blowing unit 130. The switch 160 can be placed at any position where the viewer may easily handle the switch and is connected to the heating element 120 and the wind blowing unit 130 to perform a function of blocking or supplying power. The effect obtained by installing the switch 160 is that, for example, a viewer may want cool wind rather than hot air when the temperature is high like in summer, and, in this case, if the viewer turns off the heating element 120 by himself or herself, the viewer may feel cool wind instead of hot air since only the wind blowing unit 130 operates. In addition, a viewer who does not want the hot air or wind blowing functions at all may cut off the hot air or wind blowing functions by turning off the wind blowing unit 130 or both the heating element 120 and the wind blowing unit 130. In addition, the switch 160 may control the direction of wind or the amount of the discharged wind by controlling the air vent blades.

In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, a configuration of conserving heat can be adopted by employing a configuration of installing the assembly inside a case formed of a metallic material.

Meanwhile, a special effect system includes a special effect chair 100 and a control server 200.

The special effect chair 100 includes a heating element 120 installed inside a chair 110, a wind blowing unit 130 for circulating air heated by the heating element 120, and a discharge unit 140 for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit 130 to the outside of the chair 110, and the discharge unit 140 is positioned on the front side of the chair 110. At this point, the special effect chair 100 may include a communication unit to be controlled by the control server and can be connected to the control server through a wired or wireless local area network and controlled by the control server.

The control server 200 controls at least any one of the heating element 120 and the wind blowing unit 130 of the special effect chair 100. All the settings of operating the special effects of a movie, the settings for determining a time for operating or turning off the heating element 120 and the wind blowing unit 130 at every required time, are stored in the memory of the control server. Accordingly, since each component of the special effect chair 100 is controlled according to the previously set control time after a movie starts to play, all the special effect chairs 100 can be controlled simultaneously, or they can be controlled manually if needed.

For example, all the special effect chairs 100 in a theater can be simultaneously controlled to automatically realize the hot air and wind blowing effects at a synchronized time while a movie is actually played by previously storing a setting of discharging hot air by operating the wind blowing unit 130 (49 minutes 59 seconds) after heating the air by operating the heating element 120 in advance when an explosion scene (50 minutes 00 second) appears, a setting of blowing cool wind by operating the wind blowing unit 130 (29 minutes 59 seconds) without turning on the heating element 120 in a scene of riding and driving a motorcycle fast (30 minutes 00 second), and other settings.

In addition, the special effect chair 100 of the special effect system can be applied as shown in the configurations of the various embodiments described above.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are only exemplary, but are not restrictive from any standpoint, that the scope of the present invention is defined by the accompanying claims, rather than the above detailed description, and that the meaning and scope of the claims and all changes and modifications derived from equivalents thereof should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. 

1. A special effect chair comprising: a chair; a heating element installed inside the chair; a wind blowing unit for circulating air heated by the heating element; and a discharge unit for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit to an outside of the chair, wherein the discharge unit is positioned on a front side of the chair.
 2. The special effect chair according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is formed of a material which abruptly increases a resistance value at a specific temperature or higher.
 3. The special effect chair according to claim 2, wherein the heating element includes a PTC heater.
 4. The special effect chair according to claim 1, wherein the chair includes: a seat unit; a base unit for supporting lower part of the seat unit; and a backrest combined with the seat unit or the base unit and formed to be extended upward.
 5. The special effect chair according to claim 4, wherein the discharge unit is positioned on a front side of the backrest.
 6. The special effect chair according to claim 5, wherein the discharge unit is positioned at an upper portion on the front side of the backrest, and the heating element is arranged between a center portion of the backrest and the upper portion where the discharge unit is formed.
 7. The special effect chair according to claim 4, further comprising an armrest combined at least at any one side of the seat unit or the backrest, wherein the discharge unit is positioned in the armrest.
 8. The special effect chair according to claim 1, wherein the discharge unit includes an air vent blade for controlling a direction or an amount of the discharged air.
 9. The special effect chair according to claim 1, further comprising a heat storage unit for conserving the air heated by the heating element.
 10. The special effect chair according to claim 9, wherein the heat storage unit is combined on a surface of the heating element or has a shape surrounding the heating element.
 11. The special effect chair according to claim 1, further comprising a switch for controlling operation of the heating element or the wind blowing unit.
 12. A special effect system comprising: a special effect chair including a heating element installed inside the chair, a wind blowing unit for circulating air heated by the heating element, and a discharge unit for discharging the air circulated by the wind blowing unit to an outside of the chair; and a control server for controlling at least any one of the heating element and the wind blowing unit of the chair, wherein the discharge unit is positioned on a front side of the chair. 